Self-Regulation Flashcards
What is self-regulation?
Closing the intention-behaviour gap. Everything we do, we do to move closer to our goals. ally, successful self-regulation means successfully pursuing your goals. Self-regulation involves many different processes, such as deciding which goals to pursue in the first place; managing conflict between goals; and resisting temptations.
What is the result of a lack of self-regulation?
Lack of self-regulation linked to these negative outcomes: obesity, relationship problems, sexually impulsive behaviour, drug abuse, violence, smoking etc.
What did Mischel et al. (2010) find?
Wanted to see how could get children to wait longer. Would wait longer if asked to think of marshmallow’s as “fluffy clouds” – removed temptations. Follow up to see how they developed and what outcomes they had later on in life. The longer the children waited the better their academic achievement, better social outcomes, better behaviour etc. Seems to measure a crucial ability to do well in life.
What is trait self-control?
Meta-analysis found that scores on the Self-Control Scale predicted success across all their measures of behaviour (De Ridder et al., 2012). Strongest for school & work, and weakest for eating & weight (but still significant). This seems to be an overwhelmingly beneficial and adaptive trait, with no apparent downside - personality trait that is overwhelmingly positive.
What is model of action phases?
Heckhausen and Gollwitzer (1987). This model can help us to understand the stages involved in successful self-regulation. Preactional phase – what action you are going to take to achieve goal. Split behaviour into 4 different phases - Pre-decisional – look at different goals and decide which one you want to persue.
Actional phase – carry out goal, need willpower. Post-actional – reflect on whether outcome was worthwhile. Involves planning effectively and choosing good goals – not just about willpower and being able to carry out a goal. Not all goals are equal – may pick an unrealistic goal unsuitable to your skill, or choose a goal that makes you unhappy.
What is a possible cause of failure (making faulty predictions about future emotions)?
Making faulty predictions about future emotions. We predict the future when we make goals. Use simulations of the future to guide the decisions that we make. We are often wrong about these predictions – this feeds in to making the wrong goals. Error that we make is we over-predict the negative outcome we have, because we under-predict our ability to cope. Also often focus on things that are not important about how happy we would be, and ignore things that would make us happy. Implications of this is that we may choose the wrong goal.
What is a possible cause of failure (underestimating how long things take)?
The planning fallacy is ‘the tendency to hold a confident belief that one’s own project will proceed as planned, even while knowing that the vast majority of similar projects have run late (Buehler et al. 1994). One reason for this bias is that when making predictions about their own behaviour, people tend to focus on their future plans rather than past actions.
What is the planning fallacy and psychology projects?
Buehler et al (1994) asked 37 psychology students about their research project. Pessimistic estimate increased the time taken, optimistic decreased it. All below actual time taken.
What is a possible cause of failure (giving in to temptation)?
Hoffman et al. (2012) texted participants seven times a day for 1 week and asked whether they were currently experiencing a desire
Participants reported experiencing a current or recent desire over three quarters of the time, and half of these desires conflicted with the participant’s goals.
What is the strength model (Baumeister et al)?
Self-control depends upon a limited resource which is depleted when you exert self-control, leaving fewer resources available for subsequent self-control. Resource that can be built upon over time. Function of what has happened to you recently – some may have more resources that others, but some would depend on how much self-control they have recently used.
How has the strength model been tested?
Baumeiser et al (1998). Resist eating either cookies or radish’s. When people used self-control in first task, they did worse in the second task - People who exerted self-control in the first task performed more poorly on a subsequent test of self-control, compared to people who did not exert any self-control on the first task.
What is the ego depletion effect?
Become controversial. People have tried to replicate effect, bit of open question. People more likely to make mistakes near end of shift etc. (something going on with ability to use self-control changes over time).
Can self-regulation be improved?
Some people have interpreted studies like the marshmallow test as evidence that this ability is predetermined early in life
But the existence of trait differences in an ability doesn’t mean people can’t improve this ability. Something about you that predicts your outcomes that cannot be changed. Thought this was something that can be taught, and can achieve good self-regulation even if not good at it to start with.
How can self-regulation be improved through recommitment?
Ariely et al. (2002) found that students perform better when deadlines are evenly spaced out, rather than bunched together at the end of term. They tested whether allowing students to set earlier deadlines (vs. not giving them this option) would help them self-regulate. Most of these students voluntarily chose to set earlier deadlines, but tended to cluster these near the end of term, and ended up with worse grades; this suggests we don’t precommit optimally. Not always good at implementing this strategy ourselves.
How can self-regulation be improved through self-compassion?
Negative emotions can have knock-on effect on ability to achieve goal. How we respond to failure is important in self-regulation. Self-compassion – told not to be too hard on themselves. Being kind to yourselves when you fail is often a useful strategy.
